Walk for Peace leads way for city solution

People take part Saturday in a Procession For Peace in Anaheim. The march was lead by Bishop Kevin Vann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange with Father Preciado of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, and Lorri Galloway, former Anaheim Mayor Pro Tem.MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Crime in Anaheim

Anaheim, the county's most populous city, reported an increase in property crime such as burglaries and car thefts in 2012. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual crime report shows that there were 10,070 property crimes last year compared to 8,493 in 2011.

Violent crimes such as murder, rape and robbery dropped a fraction of a percentage point last year to 1,279 violent crimes in 2012 from 1,281 crimes in 2011. Though there were fewer rapes and robberies reported, the city saw an increase of 4 percent in aggravated assaults.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

ANAHEIM – Bishop Kevin Vann led bilingual prayers in front of dozens of people at St. Anthony Claret Church on Saturday, but not in his usual flowing vestments.

Instead, the leader of the Diocese of Orange donned a black blazer, straw fedora hat and leather boots adorned with Our Lady of Guadalupe. In those boots, he led about 50 people in a procession for peace on the streets near Anna Drive. The neighborhood, a recognized problem area for the city, is known as the center of last year’s riots surrounding the police shootings of two Anaheim men, Manuel Diaz and Joel Acevedo.

Joanne Sosa, outreach director for community service nonprofit East Street Community Renewal Initiative, said this is the first year Bishop Vann has led its annual “Procession for Peace,” which looped from the church on La Palma Avenue, down a couple of blocks to Baxter Street and back.

The nonprofit has hosted its “Procession for Peace” for the past three years. Each of those processions, or walks, was in remembrance of a specific victim in Anaheim during the time – from the shooting of Adrian Ramos and Caesar Cruz in 2010 to 12-year-old Juan Martinez, who was stabbed multiple times across the street from his school in 2011.

Sosa said this year’s walk would be a first step toward healing, and inspire hope in the community. The procession also landed on International Day of Peace this year, which she said was a coincidence.

“People are tired and exhausted,” Sosa said. “There is a lot that has happened in last two years. We need positive action that's meaningful to the community. This is how we move forward.”

This year, Sosa said the march recognized all violent events that have occurred in the area in the past few years, the most recent being Diaz and Acevedo, whose deaths by police officers a day apart caused riots along Anna Drive last summer.

Bishop Vann said inner peace was “the greatest antidote to violence” before leading participants on the streets. Afterward, he blessed everyone in the procession.

“Whatever struggles or challenges we face, we can’t do by ourselves,” Vann told the crowd before the walk. “We call upon the power of God to bring grace to our families and neighborhoods. We ask that God come into our hearts.”

During the walk, some participants prayed the rosary in Spanish for the neighborhood residents. Toward the back of the line, three mothers, Theresa Smith, mother of Cruz; Donna Acevedo and Genevieve Huizar, walked in unison. They carried a banner for Huizar’s son, Manuel Diaz, reading “always in our hearts,” below his birth and death date.

“We need to make positive changes,” Huizar said. She said those changes included creating an afterschool program or center for the community. “We need hope for a brighter future.”

Acevedo said that peace starts from having respect for the community and one another, then having police officers respect the community members. When she arrived in the parking lot, the rear window of her car read “F.T.P. Film The Police.”

“People need to be heard. They need to feel like they can speak up and have a voice,” Acevedo said.

A man biking on the street looked on curiously and called out to Anaheim resident Yesenia Rojas, “Por que?” while she walked in the procession.

“Because of all the violence we have had in the community. We deserve to live in peace,” replied Rojas, who lives on Anna Street.

Rojas, who carried her 2-year-old daughter Bella on her shoulders, said changing the attitudes of her neighbors to avoid violence would have to come from within themselves. She said the procession would lead by example in her community.

Mayor of Anaheim Tom Tait also helped lead participants in the march. In response to procession’s concern with violence, he said the city hired its interim police chief Raul Quezada, began an audio recorder program on all Anaheim police officers in the last six months. He also said he is pushing for a civilian review commission to help address general police complaints.

People take part Saturday in a Procession For Peace in Anaheim. The march was lead by Bishop Kevin Vann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange with Father Preciado of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, and Lorri Galloway, former Anaheim Mayor Pro Tem. MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, left, and Bishop Kevin Vann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange walk in the Procession For Peace with parishoners of St. Anthony Claret church including, Yesenia Rojas, right, carrying her daughter Bella Borrayo in Anaheim Saturday. MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
There is still mistrust in the city of Anaheim toward the city's police, even at the Procession for Peace in Anaheim Saturday. MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Marchers make their way past Anna Drive on Saturday during a Procession for Peace organized by St. Anthony Claret church in Anaheim on Saturday. MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait and Bishop Kevin Vann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange lead a Procession For Peace along La Palma Avenue in Anaheim on Saturday. MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait and Bishop Kevin Vann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange lead a Procession For Peace along La Palma Avenue in Anaheim on Saturday. MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Bishop Kevin Vann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in Anaheim on Saturday. MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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